They left Chase Elliott 2014 Nationwide Series winning days as youngest champion in NASCAR history alongside crew chief Greg Ives. A decade, seven MPD awards, 299 Cup appearances and a top-level championship later, Bill Elliott The prodigal son has emphatically left his mark in the true sense of the metaphor. But this weekend in Charlotte will bring back memories of his second division triumph with JR Motorsports once again, thanks to a double opportunity that went unnoticed.
Due for his first of two announced Xfinity starts in entry #17, Chase Elliott will engage in his own ‘900 miles’ of high-speed stock car antics. To help improve his fortunes, his former series-winning crew chief, Ives, will return as his team leader, overseeing at least 300 of the advertised Xfinity miles. This inspires nothing but confidence in Chase Elliott in his own progress for the Coca-Cola 600. But also toward the collective benefits of personnel depth within Hendrick Motorsports.
How does Greg Ives’ role in Xfinity benefit Hendrick Motorsports and Chase Elliott?
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The name of Greg Ives rings loudly in the garages of Rick Hendrick’s glorious racing team. From winning 5 championships with Chad Knaus as a career engineer for Jimmie Johnson’s Team #48 to guide names like Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Alex Bowman In victory lane for HMS, Ives has seen the best of the best in his nearly two-decade association with the organization.
After leaving his position as pit chief for the #48 team in 2022 to assist Hendrick Motorsports’ Garage 56 efforts, Ives thankfully couldn’t stay away from the excitement of NASCAR’s pit stops. A year later, he was announced to return as a part-time crew chief for the #48 Cup Series and #17 Xfinity Series entries. According to previous statements from Hendrick’s official channels, the influential insider will command 6 of 10 races for Hendrick’s lone second-tier Camaro in 2024.
Indy-Charlotte double contender Kyle Larson earned the #17 team and its owners a debut road course victory at COTA with Ives in March, just his second start of the Xfinity season. The 4 races, without Ives at the helm, involved a collaboration between William Byron and its 24th team lead engineer, Brandon McSwain as team leader. This indirectly points to Ives’ unofficial mentor role in the recent success of Hendrick Motorsports’ only Xfinity Series Chevrolet.
Chase Elliott, in recent conversations with NASCAR radio’s Lee Spencer, emphasized these sentiments when he spoke of the ‘importance’ of HMS giving Ives the ‘opportunity’ in a position that allows him to not only “build that team” 17) but also advise people who come in different areas of the team and try to prepare them for the Cup for Hendrick.”
As Elliott explained, “I think it’s extremely important, and I think, you know, you mentioned it, but that’s the most important part of doing the #17 car in-house: It’s a challenge to ensure that our team members have the right capability.” “. number of repetitions on the race track during a practice environment. Everything happens very quickly, you know, meeting expectations and at the level that a Cup team manager expects from his boys.”
Laying out the potential for immediate replacements, he provided an alternative perspective on things: “And it’s hard to get reps for those guys, if they’re new or if we have someone coming on tour or, you know, the personnel changes, so it’s a very good opportunity for Hendrick Motorsports to prepare its own people in its own way. “Have people ready, in case you know maybe a kid is missing a weekend.”
It is important to remember that Greg Ives serves as the head of the #48’s relief team in case any obstacles occur on behalf of Blake Harris. Furthermore, with the mentoring context in mind, it will surely be useful for all teams to make good use of the experience gained by Ives, evident through 10 wins as pit leader, of which Bowman claimed 7.
Another first for Rick Hendrick in 2024?
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Speaking again with his former crew chief JRM for the BetMGM 300 a very good decision.” For the company to make sure not only that the drivers get a few extra reps here and there, but it’s also important for the team members.”
Still, Elliott won the Truck Series and Cup Series races at Charlotte once each, in his championship year in 2020. However, an Xfinity Series victory remains unfulfilled in the long run. driver resume No. 9. All things considered, Ives’ proven track record alongside Chase Elliott & Hendrick Motorsports could make another first a reality in 2024 for Mr. Popular.
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Alan Gustafson and Chase Elliott
As for his fortune in the Coca-Cola 600, analysts have Chase at somewhat favorable odds of +1100 to win the race, and even Kevin Harvick picks the No. 9 spot for a win at Charlotte this Sunday. Statistically, Elliott has finished P1 (Texas) and P3 (Kansas) in the two mile-and-a-half races so far this season.
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With the broadest spectrum comprised of its current full-time Cup team manager Alan Gustafson Confidently guiding the No. 9 team to finishes rarely lower than P15 in thirteen races through 2024, this weekend looks to be more of the same and even better for Chase Elliott.
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